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| Other circles were made of wood and were used for parties |
It is an enormous feat if we consider the difficulty that could have been almost 3,000 years ago transporting these enormous slabs. They were not moved by magic by Merlin, as legend has it, but they were pushed by men with hardly any tools. In addition, this strange circle is very different from others found near it or discovered in regions as remote as Germany or Portugal.
According to LiveScience, these 'henges' or circles (as British archaeologist Thomas Kendrick named them in 1932) normally surround an interior trench. However, Stonehenge is the other way around: the monument is inside the ditch. And it is not the only difference.
The builders of Stonehenge passed through Spain before reaching the UK
They came from the area of Anatolia, what is now Turkey, and settled in the Iberian peninsula before continuing northward.
Most of these circles were made of wood. Obviously few have survived, but in the 20th century they began to discover their existence thanks to aviation: "After the First World War, when people began to fly over the country, they began to see where these constructions had been because they left traces in the ground with its mounds. People didn't realize it until they had a bird's eye view, "said Rosemary Hill, the historian who wrote the recent study.
At Stonehenge you don't eat
This type of construction was common in England, but has also been found in Ireland, in the region of French Brittany and even near Berlin or in Portugal. It is believed that there could be many more yet undiscovered.
"Stonehenge is a mystery, whether you are a Druid or an anthropologist or a New Age"
There are innumerable theories for these circles and, above all, for Stonehenge: it has been said that they were sacred hunting places, meeting places, astronomical calendars, structures for the amplification of sound, cemeteries, sanatoriums or even places to organize a kind of barbecue of the time. For example, in the Durrington Walls henge, just 2 miles from Stonehenge, remains have been discovered indicating that people flocked there to feast on. However, in the mysterious stone monument it does not appear that it was eaten.
Human remains have been found at Stonehenge, "so it is strong evidence that it was a burial site and is oriented towards the setting sun during the winter solstice," Hill said. "So I think you can say that it has to do with the dead and the solstices. It is not unreasonable to think of it as a ritual site and there is no evidence that people eat or live there."
